Drop staff brake mechanism



J. WILSON DROP STAFF BRAKE MECHANISM March 13, 1945.

Filed July 17, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l I INVENTOR. BY z/aa/f .Z/jZ/YO/ZMarch 13, 1945. J. wmsbN 2,371,326

DROP STAFF BRAKE MECHANISM Filed July 17, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR.

Patented Mar. 13, 1945 DROP STAFF BRAKE MECHANISM Jack Wilson, Chicago,IlL, assignor to Universal Railway Devices Company, a

Delaware corporation of Application July 17, 1942, Serial No. 451,251"

2 Claims.

This invention relates to brakes for railway cars, and more particularlyfor useon flat cars andthe like.

The principal object of the invention is the A still further object ofthe invention is the.

provision of a new and improved drop stafi brake operating mechanismhaving a novel arrangement of the means for supporting the staff in 2.

its elevated position.

.A further object of the invention is the provision of a new andimproveddrop staff brake operating mechanism that is simple in construction,powerful in operation, comparatively inexpensive to manufacture andinstall, that is efficient in operation, and that is rugged inconstruction and easy of operation.

Other and futher objects and advantages of the invention willappear-from the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which vFig. l is a'top plan view of a fiat carshowing the invention applied thereon, with partsbroken away;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the line '2:2, of Fig. l, withparts broken away;

Fig. 3 is a section through the line 3-3 of Fig.. 2, with parts brokenaway and showing the car wheel in the position it assumes in roundingcurves of comparatively short radii;

4 is a section on the line 4 0f Fig-"22:5.

.Fig. 5 is an end elevation of a portion of the car with the inventionin position thereon and with parts broken away;

. i 6 is a vertical section similar to Fig; 4.

drop brake staifs so that, if desired, the staff may be lowered beneaththe floor level in order toprovide clearance for certain types oflading. It is desirable that when the brake staff is inits uppermostposition it be at a maximum height for convenience in operation. Thepresent trafiic rules require that the staff shall be a predetermineddistance above the rails when in. lowered position. In the brakeinstallations as practiced at the present time the staff is necessarilycomparatively short, due to the manner in which they are installed andsupported.

The present invention seeks to remedy this difliculty by providin a newand improved design for the supporting mechanism for the brakev staff.One manner of accomplishing this result is disclosed in the presentsystem, wherein the gear mechanism is so constructed and so mounted thatonly the brake drum gear will be below the end sill, while the remaininggear mechanism will be located at the end' of the car above thehorizontal 'plane of the lower portion of the end sill,

Another plan is to mount the supporting stirrup in such manner that itwill holdthe staff in its highest position. By providing a recess in thelower end of the brake staff pinion into which the pin in thelower-'end'of the stafi may be drawn, additional length may be added tobrake staff, as will presently appear.

Furthermore, by combining all of these'arrangements the staff may bemade much longer than would otherwise be possible.

All of this is considered an important feature ofthe invention, becauseit permitsthe staff to be elevated to itshighest possible positionwhereit'is much more convenient for the brakeman ther illustrate or describethe same.

The truck is provided with the usual brake mechanism including the brakelever. 20' and the draw chain or cable I6, as shown more clearly inFigs. 2 and 3 of the drawings. In the form of construction shown, whichis by way of example only, the casing or housing for the brake operatinggears has a portion of it extending beneath the car end, as will now bedescribed.

Attached to the end sill l2, and extending be-' the neath the same, isthe casing I! for containing the brake operating gears.

The casing is rigidly secured to the bottom flange and to the webportion of the end sill I2 by any suitable means, such as the rivets I8,I9,

respectively ,(Fig. 2). This housing comprises a lower portion 2! whichextends beneath the flange of the endsill l2, and an upper portion 22that extends upwardly along the outer face of the end sill. Journaledwithin the lower or horizontal portion 2! of the casing is a gear 23,hav-- ing a winding drum 2'4 thereon, as by being integral therewith,which is of the usualor' any well known construction, and to whichthe.outer end. of the brake chain or cable I6 isattached. The gear 23 ismounted so that it is in close proximity to the bottom portion of theendsill, andthus the remaining portion of the mechanism will be as farabove the tracks or rails as possible so that a longer. staff may beemployed, as will presently appear.

In'orderto-have accessto therivetl8 for securin'g' the" housing in"position, the lower section 2! of the housing" H that extends beneaththe end of the car is provided with' orie or more enlarged openings Z5,and the gear'23 is" provided with aplurality ofopenings 26 any one ofwhichmay: be brought into register with oneof the openings 25 so-ast'ohave accesst'o-therivets l9 when it is desired'to s'eourethesameimposition In order to-prov'ide sufficient clearance forthe'heads of therivets I 8; and atthe same time secure thegear. 13.-

inclose-proximityto the underside of" theend. sill; the=gear 23 hasitscentral portion depressed or' recess-ed; as shown: in Fig.2 3;.

Suitablemeans: are provided. for rotating; the goat 23E and with it thedrums; 24', .for" operating the brakes by winding: up the 1 chain. or:cable; It; A brake sta-fi' 28, which is rectangular incrossa section;is: employed :ror. operating. the brakes shaftnextendsrthrough an:enlarged opening;

iii-the upper: portion: 22 of. the housing H and tnrou'giran aliiiedopeningriaz' intlie-lowenportion; thereoff These openingsiconstitute'bearings for." This the upper: and lower'endsof: a pinion. 3 3. pinionis provided with an upperfiange 34 ex.- tendingv-overr the opening orhearing; 29;. and" a flangeifliwhich extends over the bearing. 32101-limiting the downward movement of the; pinion 33. 'Iihe openin'gzaisenlargedzto such'aneextent thati when theibearing isxremoved, the-pinion3'3- may berlowered: tlierethrou'ghso: that its; lower" journalz3-0 mayengage'the bearing 32, asshowm in Fig. 4.

'The pinionpil33is.provided:with an angular axial opening through: whichisslidably mounted the brakeisliafizflfi; 'Ilhepinion 33 hasvitsilowerend: recessed.'ahout.'theshaft 36;.asat 31,101: receiving;

pivotedhetweentwo'pairs of lugs-43,44, integralwith the upper portion.of the casing IT at its extreme-upper end abovethe pinion 33,.as shownmore. clearly in. Figs. 2, and 5 of. the, drawings. Theeunper portion.or the arms 4|, 42, extend inwardly andi theinwardly extending, portionsare: provided with alined openings 45; each of'which 44, through whichthey pass.

has an extension or notch 45, indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4. Thesenotches extend vertically from the openings 45 when the stirrup is inlowered position.

The pivot pins 41, 48, for the arms 4!, 42, are rectangular incross-section, and are held from turning by rectangular openings in thelugs 43,

The greatest dimension or these pins is slightly less. than the diameterof th openings 45, and the extensions onnotches 46 of the openings areso constructed and arranged that when the stirrup 39 is in itsinoperative position, shown in Fig. 4, the pivot pins. 41, 48,.will.not.engage in the extensions or notohesflr. However, these extensions ornotches 'I'helower ends of the arms' -l'iave a curvedcoiinectingme'mberor portion; that is, a member that is transversely concave on its uppersuriace, whichis adapted toengage beneath the brake staif when the sameis elevated The arms a're 'into alihement with theangular pins 41; 48,

thereby preventing the movementof the stirrup 49Ifro'm beneath theshaft. Whenit isdesii edtb lower" the brakestaff the stirrup 39 israisedf'to disengage the pivot pins 41, 48; fr0m.the extention shown inFig: 4; after-whichthe shaft may be lowered,.as:shown in dotted linesinFig. 2

It will. be noted that the pivot-'' pins 44", 4-3, are mounted onthe'uppermost portionor the=hdusihg l1, whereby the connecting or's'ta-ffsupportiiig" member 49 of the stirrup=39 willbesupported ifiproximity'to tlieplane-of the lower surfapeofithe end sill. As a resultof this' arrangement the staff may be eievate'dto a greater height/theftwhen the stirrup is hingedat a'-lower-level.'

In order that the brake wheel 5|; when 'the staff is lowered; shall bebelow'the' -upper surface of the floor Hi, the floor is provided with acurved recess 52 (Fig.1), withinwhiclrthewheel 5| is lowered, asindi'catedmore: clearly in d'ottedline's in.Eig. 2. The curvatureofthis'rece'ssis suclras to provide the necessary clearance, around theWheel. The brake shaft is" adapted torotateth'" pinion 33, and. anidler. or intermediate. gear 53'- is interposed between the pinion andthe 'gear 232. This. intermediate gear. rnember is of] the powermultiplying type, and'in orderthat' the" brake shaftmay. be raisedto'its maximum: heightthe. gear train between the brake sli'aft and-thebrakedrum is such that the intermediate oridler' gear 53' is abovetheplane of'thewinding gear .23. In the form of construction shown the,pinion. 33' engages the idler gear 53, and this" gear has integraltherewith, andibelowthe same, a pinion 54 which in turn:interme'slieswith gear 23:

Itwill thus be seen that by'means'of thisar j rangenient the pinion 3%isahigher plane than the gear 23, and consequently the shaft 35 may beraised so that thepins' 38 will be'above the plane of the gear 23. Thisis considered one important feature of the invention.

By employing-the idler gear and pinion 53, 54, the winding drum 24 willbe caused to rotate in the same direction in which the shaft 28 isrotated. Since the drum will be rotated inthe same direction in whichthe shaft is rotated, that is, right-handed, it will be seen from. aninspection of Fig. 3 that the brake chain or brake cable will bepositioned much farther to the right of the wheel l5 than it would bewere the idler omitted, because by omittingthe idler the gear 23 mustrotate in the opposite direction from that of the shaft, andconsequently the brake chain or cable would be on the side of the drumadjacent to the car wheel when the brakes are applied. With the presentconstruction there is no danger of the brake chain fouling the wheelduring the operation of the brake, even on rounding curves. i

Suitable means are provided for holding the brake in adjusted. position.In the form of construction shown abracket 55, rigidly attached to theend sill l2 of the car by means of rivets 56, is provided. This bracketis provided with axial openings forming bearings fora sleeve 51', havinga square axial opening therethrough for receiving the shaft 28, as isusual in such constructions. The sleeve 51 has rigidly attached theretoa ratchet 58, having ratchet teeth 59 onits under side, as clearly shownin Fig. 2 of the drawings. In order to hold the ratchet in adjustedposition a suitable pawlfil, pivoted, as at 62 (Fig. 5), is provided.The inner end of this pawl is curvedupwardly and is adapted to engagethe teeth 59 and the outer end 63 "of which eX- tends outwardly beyondthe bracket for providing handle means for manipulating the pawl. Inorder that the pawl may act automatically a weight member 64 isprovided. The weight member is also pivoted on the pivot 62, and, whenin the position shown in Fig. 5, it will act on the extended end 63 forcausing the tooth-engaging end of the pawl to move upwardly intoengagement with the teeth. v

In releasing the brake the Weight member 64 is first thrown to theopposite side of its pivot for freeing the pawl, after which thebrakeman moves the brake wheel slightly in the direction of tighteningthe brake for releasing the pawl by gravity. The brake wheel may now bereleased,

or may be slowly rotated by the operator in reverse position forreleasing the brakes.

It will thus be seen that by employing an intermediate gear in the brakeoperating mechanism the drum will be turned in the same direction as theshaft, thereby removing the brake chain from the side of the drumadjacent the truck wheel to the side farthest from said wheel, as shownin Fig. 3, thus providing suffi- .cient clearance even on sharp curves.-Not only 33 and 54,-are the same,'and arrangedin. the same .manner, ashas already been described. Likewise the brake staff 36 and the housingor bracket 17* are substantially the same, except that in. themodifiedform of construction. the

housing is modified to accommodate the different means employed forholding thebrake'staff in elevated position. In this form ofconstruction the housing Fi is provided With-apair of 'depending ears,lugs or'extensions 65, which extend vertically downwardlybelow thebrake. ,stafi' 36. These ears or extensions are connected. togetheradjacent the lower. ends bya pivot, member 48 which is rectangular incross-section and is similar to the pin 48 in Fig. 4.

The stirrup or staff supporting member 39, which is in the form of aninverted U having'the arms M provided with alined circular openings 66within which the pin 48* is adapted to rotate for holding the,stirrup-holding.member, is .pro-. vided for holding the staff inelevated position.-

The openings 56 are providedwithupward extensions or notches 6'1, whichareadapted to receive the pivot 48 when thestirrup is'in operativeposition, as indicated in Fig.6; of the drawings. In order to bias thestirruprmernber -39 to position vertically beneath: the-staff 36 acounterweight 68 is provided. :The upper cross member Ill of the stirrupis concave on its upper side for engaging beneath the staff 36 when thelatter is in elevated position. When it is desired tolower the stafifrom the position shown in Fig. 6, the stirrup is elevated to remove thepivot member 48 from the notch 81; after which the stirrup may be turnedto the dotted linepositioniin said figure. By means ofthe-counterweightthe stirrup willautomatically move to the staffholdingpositionwhen the end of the stafi is ele-,

vated above the stirrup; The casing I! is pro-. vided with a flange 69,which limits the inward movement of the upper end of the stirrup tostaff-holding position. I

The form of construction shown in Fig. differs from that shown in Fig. 6in that instead of providing a counterweight for moving the stirrup intooperative position the ears 65 are ex tended downwardly and outwardly,and their lower ends are connected together by a pivot H which islaterallyof the vertical axis of the staff 36, as clearly shown-in thisfigure. In this form. of construction the stirrup 39 is also in the formof an inverted U, with the arms connected together at their upper endsby a cross member 68, which is concave on its upper surface for engagingbeneath the staff 36, as in the other forms of construction. The casingll is provided with a lug or flange 12 for limiting the inward movementof the stirrup when it is in'its operative position.

Since the pivot H is laterally of the center of gravity of the stirrup,the latter will be held by gravity in its operative position. The armsof the stirrup are provided with laterally extending lugs 1.3 that areadapted to engage beneath the ears or extensions 65 for limiting theturning movement of the stirrup when moved to its inoperative position.The stirrup, when moved to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 7,will have its center of gravity to the leftof the pivot pin showntherein, so that when the staff 35 is movedup wardly and the pin 38engages within the recess 31 the stirrup will be automatically moved bygravity to the full line position shown in Fig.7.

It will thus be seenthat in the various strucconstruction the gears23and 53,- and-pinions tur'es described each results in an arrangementpermitting an extension of the staff of a drop staff brake. -:Itwillalso be observed that in the present construction these structures allcooperate to permit the use of a brake stair oi maximum height when inelevated position and one that will not extend we-near the rails "whenthe same is'in lowerediposition.

While the mechanism has been specifically described, it is understoodthat this is for the purpose of disclosure only, and that the claims areto be given 'asbroad 'an interpretation as the art willpermit.

This is an improvement on the'mechanism disclosed in Patent No.2,007,706, to P. B. Camp, issued July 9, 1935.

It is thought fromtheforegoing, taken in conmotion with the accompanyingdrawings, that the construction and operation of my device will be'apparentto those skilled in the art, and that changes in size, shape,proportion and 'detailmay be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

In a brake operating mechanism, a bracket comprising a horizontal andvertical section, a gearjournaled insaidhorizontal section and rotatableabout a vertical axis, said gear being closely adjacent to the uppermostpart of said horizontal section, a winding drum rotatable withsaid'gearjbut below the same, a pinion oarried by said'verti'cal section andhaving a depending journal portion provided with an enlarged axialopening only beneath the teeth of said pinion, a brake shaft slidablyinterlocked in said axial opening for rotating said pinion, an idlergear abov said inst-named gear meshing with said pinion, an idler pinionmeshing with said first nained gear :for operating said drum "when saidshaft is'rdtated, :a pin through the lower end of said shaft iorlimiting the upward m'o'vement of the flatter, said ifirst nam'ed pinionhaving a recess in its lower end for receiving said pin when the shaftis elevated, stirrup imeans pivoted above said pinion engaging beneathsaid stair closely adjacent the lower end of said first-named pinion forholding the stafi in elevated position, and'a pawl and ratchet forholding said shaft in brake holding position.

2. In a brake operating mechanism for a railway car, a bracket having alower portion adapted to extend beneath a car at the end thereof, an

upper portion adapted to extend upwardly along the end of the car, abrake drum, a brake drum gear rotatable with 'the drum about a verticalaxis, said gear being adapted to be in close proximity to the said endsill below the same when in operative position on said car, an operatingpinion carried by said upper portion, a brake shaft slidable axiallythrough said pinion for rotating the same, an intermediate gear andpinion engaging said pinion and brake drum gear, respectively, saidintermediate gear being above said drum gear, means on th lower end ofsaid staff for limiting the upward movement of the latter, saidoperating pinion having its lower end provided with an enlarged recessbelow the teeth of said gear for receiving said means when the staiT iselevated, angular pivot pins carried by the uppermost portion of saidbracket; aboveisaid operating pinion, a stirrup having upwardlyextending arms provided with circular openings for receiving said pivotpins, said openings having notched extensions for receiving said angularpivots .for holding said stirrup in operative position, said stirrupmovable to a position to engage beneath said staff for holding the samein elevated position with its lower end adjacent said operating pinion.

JACK WILSON.

